PARANOID STORYTELLING

A journalist’s study of paranoia sends him headlong into a thriller.

It takes some time to see what Merrill is doing in this novel, which opens with its narrator covering a political rally on a small island off the coast of Maine and winds up many miles away, both literally and figuratively. The narrator, who shares a name with the author, observes firsthand the effects of paranoia on the populace: When he interviews people at the rally, they use buzzwords familiar from QAnon. He soon becomes interested in a neurobiologist named Dr. Rala Veruza, who’s engaged in the “study of cultural immunology,” which involves the idea that “humans form superorganisms, living entities comprised of many individuals.” Just as people can be vaccinated against disease, the thinking goes, it might be possible to inoculate an entire community or society against disinformation. Dr. Veruza goes missing early in the novel, prompting the narrator to contact several of her acquaintances and colleagues in order to find her, including a Hungarian academic, a performance artist in Prague, and an insurance investigator whose own work experience helps inform the narrator’s search. Gradually, the narrator begins to wonder if Dr. Veruza’s disappearance is the work of malicious actors, including an all-powerful tech company known as the Conglomerate. This is a heady book, with big ideas about society, politics, academia, and art in the mix, but Merrill finds a good balance between the high concept and the visceral thrills. The result is a literary work that recalls the writings of both Tom McCarthy and David Grann. It’s an unlikely combination, but also an effective one.

Merrill pulls off a stylistic balancing act, making for a compelling read.